Counties in Iowa by traffic fatalities

Polk County had the highest traffic fatalities of 99 counties in 2016, at 28. Wright County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 3 and the figure for Iowa was 402. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Highest28Polk County

Lowest0Wright County

Median399 counties

Iowa402History

Top 40 counties, 2016

count. Source: NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	Counties	2016 count	Change on 2015
1	Polk County	28	+40%
2	Linn County	20	+300%
3	Scott County	19	-9.5%
4	Johnson County	16	+220%
5	Cass County	14	+180%
6	Pottawattamie County	13	0%
7	Black Hawk County	11	+10%
7	Lee County	11	0%
9	Woodbury County	10	-23.1%
10	Benton County	9	-18.2%
11	Iowa County	8	+60%
11	Warren County	8	-27.3%
13	Cerro Gordo County	6	-14.3%
13	Clarke County	6	n/a
13	Dallas County	6	+50%
13	Floyd County	6	+500%
13	Ringgold County	6	n/a
13	Wapello County	6	+200%
13	Webster County	6	-14.3%
20	Adair County	5	n/a
20	Appanoose County	5	+150%
20	Chickasaw County	5	+400%
20	Des Moines County	5	+25%
20	Hamilton County	5	0%
20	Henry County	5	+66.7%
20	Madison County	5	+25%
20	Mahaska County	5	-28.6%
20	Mills County	5	+150%
20	Monona County	5	+66.7%
20	Muscatine County	5	+400%
31	Butler County	4	+300%
31	Carroll County	4	n/a
31	Clayton County	4	+33.3%
31	Delaware County	4	+100%
31	Dubuque County	4	0%
31	Hardin County	4	+33.3%
31	Jackson County	4	0%
31	Jasper County	4	-20%
31	Marshall County	4	0%
31	Sac County	4	+300%
31	Sioux County	4	+33.3%
31	Story County	4	-20%
31	Winneshiek County	4	+100%
44	Allamakee County	3	0%
44	Crawford County	3	-25%
44	Davis County	3	+50%
44	Fremont County	3	n/a
44	Greene County	3	+50%
44	Humboldt County	3	n/a
44	Jones County	3	-25%
44	Marion County	3	+50%
44	Plymouth County	3	-25%
44	Washington County	3	0%
44	Worth County	3	+50%
55	Boone County	2	-50%
55	Buchanan County	2	-50%
55	Buena Vista County	2	-33.3%
55	Cedar County	2	-60%
55	Clinton County	2	-33.3%
55	Dickinson County	2	-50%
55	Fayette County	2	0%
55	Grundy County	2	n/a
55	Kossuth County	2	0%
55	Louisa County	2	+100%
55	Lyon County	2	n/a
55	Monroe County	2	0%
55	Poweshiek County	2	0%
55	Shelby County	2	-33.3%
55	Tama County	2	-50%
55	Taylor County	2	n/a
55	Union County	2	+100%
55	Van Buren County	2	n/a
73	Audubon County	1	0%
73	Bremer County	1	0%
73	Calhoun County	1	0%
73	Cherokee County	1	-50%
73	Clay County	1	0%
73	Decatur County	1	n/a
73	Franklin County	1	-66.7%
73	Harrison County	1	-50%
73	Howard County	1	-50%
73	Ida County	1	0%
73	Jefferson County	1	0%
73	Keokuk County	1	-50%
73	Lucas County	1	n/a
73	Mitchell County	1	0%
73	O'Brien County	1	-75%
73	Osceola County	1	-50%
73	Page County	1	0%
90	Adams County	0	-100%
90	Emmet County	0	-100%
90	Guthrie County	0	-100%
90	Hancock County	0	-100%
90	Montgomery County	0	-100%
90	Palo Alto County	0	n/a
90	Pocahontas County	0	n/a
90	Wayne County	0	-100%
90	Winnebago County	0	n/a
90	Wright County	0	-100%

Other periods

About this ranking

People killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes during the year. FARS counts people who die within 30 days of a crash involving a motor vehicle travelling on a public road, by the place of the crash, not of residence.

A police-based count of deaths. It differs from death certificate counts (CDC) and from the WHO road traffic death rate (road_traffic_death_rate), which is modelled for international comparison.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Fatality Analysis Reporting System. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2016/National/FARS2016NationalCSV.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (2026). Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash (Counties in Iowa by traffic fatalities, 2016) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2016/National/FARS2016NationalCSV.zip

MLA 9

Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash, Counties in Iowa by traffic fatalities, 2016. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 24 June 2026, https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2016/National/FARS2016NationalCSV.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/iowa-counties?period=2016. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 2026. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash. Counties in Iowa by traffic fatalities, 2016. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2016/National/FARS2016NationalCSV.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/iowa-counties?period=2016.

Harvard

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2026) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash, Counties in Iowa by traffic fatalities, 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2016/National/FARS2016NationalCSV.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/iowa-counties?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{national_counties_in_iowa_by_2016,
  author = {{National Highway Traffic Safety Administration}},
  title = {{Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash: Counties in Iowa by traffic fatalities, 2016}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2016/National/FARS2016NationalCSV.zip},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/iowa-counties?period=2016. Publisher attribution: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Fatality Analysis Reporting System. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2016/National/FARS2016NationalCSV.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
TI  - Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash: Counties in Iowa by traffic fatalities, 2016
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/24
PB  - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2016/National/FARS2016NationalCSV.zip
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/iowa-counties?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/traffic-fatalities/iowa-counties?period=2016.
N1  - Publisher attribution: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Fatality Analysis Reporting System. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash. https://static.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/downloads/FARS/2016/National/FARS2016NationalCSV.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Questions

Which county has the highest traffic fatalities?

Polk County, with 28 in 2016, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Which county has the lowest traffic fatalities?

Wright County, with 0 in 2016.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), national CSV files: people killed (sum of FATALS in accident.csv) by county of the crash. Retrieved 2026-10-12.